Two-storey car parking facility coming up at airport

The management of Doha International Airport (DIA) has announced that work has started on a new two-storey car parking facility at the arrivals terminal.According to local daily Al-Arab, the project aims to ease the problems being faced by people over the availability of parking space and provide quality services despite the space constraints.DIA further said the new parking lot would be completed in October and have adequate facilities to park vehicles.In a statement, the DIA authorities explained that  a portion of the existing car parking area has been closed to facilitate construction work for the Doha Metro project of Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail). DIA urged people visiting the arrivals terminal to consider taking taxis to and from the terminal during the Eid holidays in view of the expected rush and inadequate car parking space, the report adds.Patrick Muller, executive vice-president of DIA, said the partial closure of the parking area was a necessary step for the development of Doha Metro. The senior official appealed to travellers and visitors to use alternative means of transportation, such as taxis, so that they did not face any inconvenience during this period.Muller said it was a temporary measure, one that was required in view of the need for joint efforts by everyone concerned to enable the development of the country’s infrastructure. He also thanked the people of Qatar for appreciating the reasons behind such a move. However, some citizens have said the airport authorities should find practical solutions instead of suggesting that people use taxis to reach the airport. It is common knowledge that taxis are not very dependable, the citizens argued. They also asserted that the officials should have taken factors like peak travel season into account before executing such projects, according to the report.A source said the postponement of the opening of the new, state-of-the-art Hamad International Airport (HIA) has added to the logistical problems in handling the rising number of passengers at the current  airport, which saw 21mn passengers last year.The opening of the  HIA, scheduled for last April, was postponed at the last minute after the multi-billion dollar facility failed to meet government safety requirements. The HIA is now expected to be launched in December this year.